Bed-bottom frame



(No Model.)

J.--A'.Q-THOMPSON.& A. WELLS.

Bed Bottom Frame 010.239.1 22. Patented March 22.1881.

N-PETERS. PHDTO-LITNDGRAPHEH. WASHINGTON. D. C.

the bed-bottom.

UNITED STATES PATENT ()EEIQE.

JOHN A. THOMPSON AND AENEAS WELLS, OF PITTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

BED-BOTTOM FRAME.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 239,122, dated March 22, 1881.

' Application filed November 17. 1880. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern/r Be it known that we, JOHN A. THOMPSON and AENEAS WELLs, of the city of Pittsburg,

in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefullmprovement in Bed-Bottom Frames; and we do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of our improvement in bed-bottoms. Fig. 2 is a modified form of the same. Figs. 3 and 4 are detached views of the corner-pieces of Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a corner-piece, and Fig. 6 is a sectional view ofa modified form ofthe same; and Fig. 7 is a view of the end rail.

Like letters refer to like partswherever they OCCUP- Heretofore the frames for wire and other mattresses,which areliable to become stretched and sag by use, have been constructed principally of wood, the mattress being fastened to the end pieces of the frame, which end pieces may be moved farther apart by means of screws which bear against the ends of the side rails, so that by turning these screws the mattress may be pulled taut; but in practicethe screws have proved to be ineffectual, owing to the fact that, the wire mattress sagging more in some places than at others, the side pieces are bent out of a straight line by the pressure of the screws, instead of tautening the mattress.

The object of my invention is to obviate this defect and provide a strong, light, and durable frame for wire mattresses which can, without trouble, he lengthened sufficiently to keep the mattress perfectly taut and even.

I will now'describe my invention, so that others skilled in the art may manufacture and use the same.

In the drawings, (t represents the side rails of the bed-bottom, which are made of iron or other metal, preferably, however, of gas-pipe or other tubing, which secures strength and lightness. These side rails are joined to metal corner-pieces .b, which corner-pieces are each provided with two sockets, 0 and d, one for the side rail and the other for the end rail of the frame, the two' sockets being at right angles to each other, and the socket d for the end rail being preferably on a plane above the socket c for the side rail, so as to keep the wire mattress stretched above the side rails. The end rails, 6, may be formed of metal or of wood, as is preferred,'theybein g placed in the sockets c of the corner-pieces, and the wire mattress is stretched between them and has no connection with the side rails, which serve to form a rigid frame and keep the mattress taut. One end of both the side rails, a, is provided with a screw-thread, and the sockets c of the corresponding corner-pieces b are also threaded, so that by turning the side rails, to, the end rails, 6, will be moved farther apart or drawn nearer to each other. Both ends of the side rails, a, may be threaded with the corresponding sockets c of the corner-pieces; but it is preferable to have the screw-threads at only one end of the frame, as this answers every purpose.

To prevent the side rails from turning in the sockets 0 when the frame receives a jar or is lifted by one of the corner-pieces so as to throw the entire weight upon the corner-piece, a bolt, f, passes through a longitudinal slot in the side of the socket and through the end of the side rail, to, which bolt is fastened by a nut, f on the other side of the socket c. The side rail, (1, is provided near its threaded end with a hole, It, through which a rod maybe passed in order to turn the rails, and thereby lengthen or sho'rten the frame; but the rails, however, can be easily turned without this by the aid of any suitable wrench, such as is commonly used for similar pipe.

The end rails, e,'are formed of gas-pipe of the required length, the ends of which fit in the sockets d of the corner-pieces I), and they are heldin position by bolts orscrews k, which pass through the sockets cl and the ends of the rails. The wire mattress need not, however, be fastened directly to the metal end rails, 13, but to wooden rails l, by means of nails or staples,which pass through the rings or meshes of the mattress,'and the rail 1 is then inserted in the hollow end rails, e, the mattress passing through a longitudinal slot, m, in the metal rails e, which slot extends the entire length of the end rail, and the sockets d, into which the ends of the rails fit, are also slotted to allow the mattress to be of full width.-

In case the mattress should become stretched frame for the mattress is strong, light, and

durable, that the frame will not twist or warp, and that the mattress may be kept perfectly taut, straight, and even.

Instead of using the metal end rails, as has been described, wooden rails may be used instead; but they will then have to be much thicker and wider in order to secure the required strength. They may be formed of the same shape and size as the end rails of mattress-frames now in use, the ends of the end rails being fastened to the corner-pieces Z) by screws, the socket at being dispensed with, and in its place a rectangular socket, 0, being formed on the corner-pieces, 1), into which the ends of the end rails fit.

We are aware that a metallic bedstead with wire mattress secured thereto and stretched therein by means of threaded side rails screwing in threaded sockets in the bed-posts has been devised. This differs from our invention in that the latter consists of an improved construction of mattress-frame, which is a wellknown article, totally distinct and separable from a bedstead.

What we claim as our invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-- 1. A woven-wire-mattress frame consisting of screw-threaded metallic side rails, metallic corner-pieces, each having a screw-socket to receive the threaded ends of the side rails and a lateral socket to receive the ends of the end rails, and end rails secured in the lateral sockets of the corner-pieces, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The slotted screw-threaded corner-pieces, in combination with threaded side rails which turn in the threaded sockets to lengthen and shorten the frame, and bolts or pins extending through the side rails and the slots of the corner-pieces to prevent the turning of the side rails in the corner-pieces, substantially as described.

3. The wire mattress having end strips to which it is fastened, in combination with a frame having hollow slotted metallic end rails containing said end strips, substantially as and for the purposes described.

In testimony whereof we have hereunto set our hands.

JOHN A. THOMPSON. AENEAS WELLS.

Witnesses:

JAMEs H. PORTE, JOHN K. SMITH. 

